All-new A350 XWB begins Americas Demo Tour in Sao Paulo

The A350 XWB that visited Brazil’s Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport as part of its Americas Demo Tour is an Airbus flight test aircraft fitted with a two-class cabin and special on-board flight test equipment

The A350 XWB’s Americas Demo Tour, which officially began at Brazil’s Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, will include stops in Campinas, Brazil and Bogota, Colombia before heading to the United States

The world’s newest, most modern and efficient aircraft, the A350 XWB, arrived in Sao Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport, officially kicking off the aircraft’s Americas Demo Tour. The Demo Tour will continue taking flight test aircraft MSN 2 to other major airports in Latin America, stopping in Campinas, Brazil and Bogota, Colombia before heading to the United States. Senior Airline representatives from TAM, the A350 XWB’s launch customer in the Americas, as well as personnel from other Latin American airlines, government officials and media, boarded MSN 2 for a static display and demonstration flight over Sao Paulo. LATAM Airlines Group, made up of LAN Airlines and TAM Airlines, has ordered 27 A350-900. Synergy Aerospace, Avianca’s main shareholder and owner of Avianca Brasil, has ordered 10 A350 XWB.The A350-900 that was displayed in Sao Paulo is an Airbus flight test aircraft fitted with a two class cabin with 42 lie-flat business class seats in a four abreast configuration and 210 economy-class seats set at nine abreast. The aircraft is also fitted with special on-board flight test equipment.The A350 XWB is the latest addition to the market-leading Airbus widebody product line. Seating up to 369 passengers in a two class layout, the aircraft can fly on routes of up to 8,000 nautical miles. The aircraft features the latest aerodynamic design, carbon fibre fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. Together, these latest technologies translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency, with a 25 per cent reduction in fuel burn and emissions, and significantly lower maintenance costs. For passengers, the A350 XWB brings new levels of in-flight comfort, with more personal space in all classes. In the premium cabin airlines can install the most luxurious lie-flat seats, while the extra wide fuselage allows for comfortable full service or budget layouts in economy class. The aircraft also features wider panoramic windows, larger overhead stowage compartments and a new draught-free air conditioning system, as well as the latest in-flight entertainment and connectivity systems. At the end of June 2015, the A350 XWB had won 781 firm orders worldwide from 40 customers. With more than 950 aircraft sold and a backlog of nearly 500, 27 customers operate nearly 600 Airbus aircraft throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In May, Airbus celebrated its 500th aircraft delivery in Latin America.